3rd Sep 2009, 17:32

Got the car back today and all seems fine again. The dealer said it was a fault with the communication between the accelerator and the engine that caused the problem.Still, it does not bode well I feel for a one week old car to have a problem like this.

5th Sep 2009, 18:42

Original poster.

Would you believe that one day after I got the Jetta back from the dealer, it had to be returned for the same problem? This time it was even worse, and the ASR anti skid system came on and could not be deactivated. I could not drive the car when this happened, so I had to switch off the car to drive a few hundred feet at 25mph before it would reactivate forcing me to keep pulling over and shutting off the car. Eventually I made it to the dealer who admitted they did not know what could be the problem. They even asked me if I was driving the car with one foot on the brake and one on the accelerator. I am very disappointed in this car, but even more with myself for picking it. I should have known better.

Summary:

Enthusiast performance + great fuel economy

Faults:

Nothing so far, but it's only 2 days old!

General Comments:

I love this car.

As I was driving up a long hill in 5th gear with more power to spare, I was thinking that what more could someone ask for? Enthusiast performance thanks to the torque of this car, combined with incredible gas mileage. A car for the new millennium!

I know it's early to put in a review, but I haven't been this excited about a new vehicle in a long time. While i liked my caddy and it had some nice toys, so does this, and the Jetta is wayyyyy more fun to drive!

My only critique would be with the manual transmission; that clutch takes some getting used to from launch. It's touchy and you need to feel the engagement point over some distance of driving to get used to it.. but, I'm told that's common to VW clutches. I'm getting better at it everyday.

6th Jul 2009, 17:37

The clutch has the most vague engagement point I have seen on a german car. I think the problem is compounded by the TDI having a very quiet engine at idle speeds. By looking at the tach I have been able to avoid stalling so often. Problem appears to be more pronounced if steering wheel is turned to the lock prior to dumping the clutch. By revving up to about 1100 and slowly engaging the clutch I am able to avoid stalling. After 1000 miles no real problems with the car.